During the 7:45 service, when it became clear that God had changed the order of service, our pastor followed the leading of our Lord. End result? No sermon.
Well, let me rephrase that: the sermon that had been planned was not presented.
After Faith's presentation, and after Pastor Sam's prayer, we listened to John 17. And as I listened to Pastor Sam reading, the thought came to me that we had just experienced John 14:31 through John 17 in our service. In that passage, the disciples had been enjoying the Passover service in the upper room, and Jesus said "Come on, let's go." And in a similar fashion, we had been enjoying another Sunday at Bronx Bethany, and the Spirit of Christ said "Come take a walk with Me. This is not what you usually do, but I want to take you somewhere. Let's go."
It is so good to be at a church where the pastor is unafraid to drop protocol for the sake of the kingdom of God. I have been in churches where such a move would be followed by intense criticism from various individuals or boards. Some years ago, for example, I once had a staff member share with me her concern about service ending at a certain time. I replied to her that God is not bound to time, and that I wished her watch would explode. (Since then, God has been teaching me to respond with less attitude and more grace!)
But such is the challenge when God jumps off the pages of the Bible and actually shows up in service. It would be more convenient to keep Him sealed up in His own book. But God is living, He speaks, He acts. He invites us, as a minister once said, to "walk with Him into the garden." And if, like the John 14 through 17 example, that garden is Gethsemane, there's no guarantee that we'll be comfortable in the experience. But we'll be in the right place.
My prayer is that we love our Lord deeply, beyond theory, and are willing to follow Him wherever He leads. Even if it isn't printed in the order of service.
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